STD's pose a significant and growing health and economic problem. According to a 2013 report by the CDC using 2008 data, it is estimated that there are over 110 million STD infections among Americans, and 20 million Americans are newly infected each year, with an estimated 50% of these infections in persons between the age of 15-24. Prior to 1960, there were only two commonly transmitted STD's: syphilis and gonorrhea, both of which were easily treatable by antibiotics. Today, there are over thirty commonly transmitted STD's, with direct medical costs totaling over $16 billion USD in the United States.
Various approaches have been used to reduce the prevalence of STD's, either independently or in conjunction with one or more other approaches. For example, condoms are often used to reduce the possibility of STD transmission. However, according to some studies, they are far from being a reliable method of preventing STD transmission. In another example, medical treatment is often used to treat or cure STD's. However there are now many drug-resistant and incurable STD's, and many infected by STD's are unaware of their STD status. In another example, delayed-sex education is often used to reduce the incidence of sexual contact and thereby reduce the number of opportunities for the transmission of STD's. However, delayed-sex education will not prevent all people from having multiple sexual partners in their lifetimes. In another example, STD education is often used to allow people to be aware of the risks of sexual contact and symptoms of STD's to make better-informed decisions regarding sexual contact and obtaining medical treatment. However, sexual contact with someone not known to have the same sexual contact status will have some risk of STD transmission, and additionally, many STD's are either asymptomatic or show no obvious symptoms. In another example, STD testing is often used to allow people to make better-informed decisions regarding sexual contact and obtaining medical treatment. However, the exchange of STD test results can result in unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information and its successful use in making better-informed decisions regarding sexual contact requires personal knowledge of the specific STD's, and additionally, the usage of STD testing for obtaining medical treatment is so low that it is estimated that up to 90% of the 50-plus million Americans infected with genital herpes are unaware of their STD status. Despite the many existing approaches used to reduce the prevalence of STD's that are used today, they have proven unable to prevent STD's from becoming increasingly prevalent, year after year, for over half a century.
Accordingly, there is a need for new systems and methods to reduce the prevalence of STD's.